PFF’s Team of the Week selections following Week 4

Week 4 is in the books and a whole slew of new names have emerged as Team of the Week candidates. The beauty of grading each and every snap of the FBS weekend is uncovering the very best performances at every position.

These are my selections for the national team of the week — be sure to scroll below to check out our selections for the Group of 5 and every Power-5 conference as well. — Steve Palazzolo

Quarterback: Steven Montez, Colorado 85.1

Montez took over the Colorado and led them to an impressive win at Oregon, capping the afternoon with a well-placed back shoulder for the game-winning touchdown. While he made a few mistakes, Montez was excellent passing and running the ball. His 90.8 rush grade ranked second among quarterbacks this week as he picked up 82 yards on 12 designed runs and 66 yards on five scrambles.

Running Back: Trayveon Williams, Texas A&M 83.2 and Dalvin Cook 82.0

Williams provided the big-play threat for Texas A&M for the second-straight week, finishing with 153 yards on 12 carries and two touchdowns. The only thing stopping him from a bigger game was opportunity. Cook bounced back and looked like the preseason Heisman candidate we expected to see. He rushed for 267 yards on 28 carries with two touchdowns.

Continuing his breakout season, Etta-Tawo led the nation with 270 receiving yards to go with two touchdowns and the top receiving grade of the week. Cornelius may not have had the same raw numbers as Etta-Tawo, but he moved the chains on five of his seven receptions, forced three missed tackles including the run game, and averaged 7.0 yards after the catch on his seven receptions.

Slot: Ryan Switzer, North Carolina 85.2

With 16 receptions on 17 targets, Pittsburgh had few answers to slow down Switzer. He caught a touchdown and picked up 138 of his 208 yards after the catch (8.6 yards after catch per reception).

Tight End: Nate Iese, UCLA 80.9

Iese caught all five of his targets for 89 yards and a touchdown, picking up 47 of those yards after the catch (9.4 YAC/reception). He also stayed clean as a blocker in the run game.

Skule was perfect on his 39 snaps in pass protection and he provided a number of key blocks in the run game. Bolles had a similar game with no pressures surrendered on 36 attempts and he came away with a solid run blocking grad of 78.4.

Guard: Boone Myers, Iowa 88.0 and Zack Bailey, South Carolina 87.6

It was a career-best game for Myers who posted one of the week’s top run blocking grades while staying clean in pass protection. While Bailey did give up one hit on his 39 snaps in pass protection, he rarely lost in the run game and put together his second straight week of strong play for the Gamecocks.

Center: Jesse Burkett, Stanford 85.7

Burkett did his part for the Stanford running game, finding linebackers at the second level and creating movement at the point of attack. He didn’t allow a pressure on 36 attempts in pass protection.

Defense

Get to know Hendrickson’s name as he’s flown under the radar among a deep group of edge rushers around the nation. He picked up two QB hits and nine hurries on only 35 rushes to post the week’s best pass rush grade at 90.3. Garrett’s name is already known, and we’re even trying to get him into the Heisman discussion. He had two QB hits and five hurries on only 31 rushes while providing solid run defense, including a key tackle for loss on the goal line.

Another name the nation needs to know, Replogle is quietly one of the top interior defensive linemen in the country and that was on display with a monster three QB hits and eight hurries on 41 rushes while adding two run stops. Qualls posted the top run defense grade of the week at 90.0 and finished with seven stops to go with three hurries on 27 rushes.

Lee had a solid game, but he capped it off with one of the best plays of the entire weekend as he ripped the ball from Oregon State WR Seth Collins’ hands and returned it for a game-clinching touchdown. Bradshaw did damage all over the field as he picked up a sack and a hurry as a pass rusher and added a pass defensed in coverage. Joseph did much of his work pressuring the quarterback as he finished with three QB hits and a hurry while also doing a nice job taking on blockers in the run game.

Brown took advantage of two errant throws in the end zone to come away with interceptions, and he also got his hands on two other passes as he allowed only one of seven targets to be completed into his coverage. Graham surrendered only three catches for 23 yards while knocking away two passes and returning an interception for a touchdown that thwarted any upset opportunity for UMass against Mississippi State.

It was Moeakiola’s pick-6 that sealed the deal for Arizona State against Cal and he tacked on another pass defensed to cap a fine day in coverage. Epps had a pick-6 of his own, one of two interceptions and a pass defensed as he posted one of the top coverage grades in the nation while also showing well against the run.

Kicker: Daniel Carlson, Auburn

You can’t do much more than Carlson did for Auburn on Saturday night. Going six-for-six on field goals, including one from 50+, he scored all of Auburn’s points against LSU. He showcased his booming leg on kickoffs too, with all seven resulting in a touchback.

Punter: Matt Haack, Arizona State

Being the punter for Arizona State isn’t exactly busy work, but Haack made the most of his three punts on Saturday against Cal. Averaging 50.3 net yards per punt, his best punt had a hang-time of 4.94 seconds.